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The recent release of Davis Guggenheim’s film Waiting for Superman has contributed to a flurry of discussion over how to fix failing American schools. I’ve read quite a bit on thoughts regarding school reform and find that there is a striking absence of discussion of American family policies and the abusive family law courts as major contributors to poor student performance. Yet studies show that divorce has a major negative impact on student performance.

(from More Studies Show Divorce Hurts Kids’ Education)

Adverse impact of divorce upon education has skyrocketed as divorce has been more common. Divorces in 1920 caused a 3.6 month loss of education, but since 1970 they have blown up to about a year in lost education. This timeframe roughly corresponds with the rise of “no fault divorce” in Western nations.

Multiple divorces had an even worse impact on high school graduation rates. While students who parents stay together average a 78.4% rate of graduation from high school by age 20, one divorce drops the graduation rate to 60%, about the same as for children whose mother or father died. Divorce and remarriage did not significantly change the graduation rates for children versus divorce with no remarriage. But with divorce-remarriage-divorce (two divorces), the graduation rate drops further to only about 40%, half of that for children whose parents remained married.

Parties as diverse as social scientists, economists, and national security experts point out that America’s under-performing educational system is a threat to the future of the nation. The United States has long maintained the economic and military superiority over its adversaries that lead to a secure and prosperous nation in large part due to the educational opportunities available to American children. Universal K-12 education means every child is supposed to have access to the knowledge and skills needed to get a start in life. American universities attract the best and brightest students from around the world. The inventiveness of these students is immense. They often become scientists, entrepreneurs, and other major contributors to the advancement of knowledge and wealth of the nation.

America’s academic performance has been on a steady downward slope for decades. This decline parallels the destruction of families via no-fault divorce that has made divorce far more common as well as the laws and court behaviors that create conflict and place children into traumatic and contentious custody battles. Often these children are stripped of most or all contact with one of their parents due to wrongful sole custody decisions and the courts enabling and encouraging parental alienation child abuse. The two phenomena of poor school performance and poor family life are directly related. While parents do make their own share of mistakes, failed government policies are the glue that binds together these interconnected disasters into a destructive spiral.
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Although they may seem strange bedfellows, former Governor of Alaska and US VP candidate Sarah Palin (Republican) and smallfry pandering child abuse proponent Jim Beall (Democrat – California Legislature) may have more in common than meets the eye. Both appear to have attitudes towards fathers that suggests they regard denying them contact with their children via access blocking and false accusations. They believe these should be tactics vicious women can legally use without regard for their children. Both think that this form of emotional child abuse known as parental alienation should be ignored and not considered in child custody decisions. Yet child psychologists consider parental alienation of great harm to children.

Palin Family: Serial Parental Alienators?

Sarah Palin and her family have been accused of alienating her daughter Bristol’s child Tripp Johnston from his father, Levi Johnston. Levi Johnston and his sister Mercede claim that the Palin family blocks his attempts to see Tripp. He is contemplating legal action against them to regain time with his son. While detractors point to Johnston being a high-school dropout with a variety of family and personal problems, it looks very likely that the Palin family really does have a problem with parental alienation against ex-relatives they want kicked out of the family and are willing to go so far as using defamation campaigns and frivolous restraining orders to accomplish their despicable goals.

(from Bristol Palin’s Bitter Split!)

“Levi tries to visit Tripp every single day, but Bristol makes it nearly impossible. She tells him he can’t take the baby to our house because she doesn’t want him around ‘white trash’!” Bristol won’t even allow him to watch the baby for a few hours — unless he’s babysitting!

The worst part, Mercede continues, is that the former vice presidential candidate supports Bristol’s treatment of Levi, 19. “I used to love Sarah,” Mercede says sadly. “But I’ve lost lots of respect for her.”

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